Mask Gradually Leaks

[gr8ful divr]

I am currently doing my NAUI certification. Today was my first day on Scuba. Let me first say that this has been a lifelong dream and that first breath underwater was even better than I had imagined. I seemed to pick up all of the skills pretty easily. The one problem I keep having is that my mask gets water in it way more than I think is normal. I had a hard time finding a mask that fit my face correctly even though I probably tried on 30 masks. The one I bought and have been using does a couple of annoying things. First I can sometimes feel some leakage at the corner of my left eye. Water slowly comes in to the point that I have to clear the mask. The other problem I have noticed is that when I exhale through the regulator it seems that the bubbles seem to dislodge the mask just enough for water to get in and again I have to clear the mask. It seems that I have to clear the mask much more often than I should. Any ideas??????

 

[spectrum]

Were you training in a hood? If a hood catches air it can do a lot of weird things to your mask strap. Getting into a hood carefully chosen for you can solve this. It will also probably want to be vented.

"Over by the eyes" does sound a lot like a fit/selection issue. However if you have the mask too tight it will press to your forehead and splay the sides out. Try losseneing the strap. It may seem looser than you expect but give it a try. Many mask problems stem from having them too tight.

At least you're getting good mask clearing practice

Added.. Be sure to get this resolved. you may get accustomed to it but if things go wrong you do not want things to snowball.

Pete

 

[divengolf]

I work at a LDS and we see many mask "problems". Sounds like either a bad fit or the lens are not properly seated or secured.

To eliminate # 2, put the mask against your face without the strap on your head. Inhale though your nose to suck the mask to your face. It shoud hold securely without any reduction in pressure (squeeze) for several seconds. If it leaks, it may be a lens problem, esp. if you had corrective lenses installed.

Otherwise it's probably the fit.

Good luck. Frequent clearing is a nuisance, but it's good training for a newbee.

 

[JTJ]

I have not taken my scuba class yet but I was told that facial hair under the nose will allow water to get into the mask. When I did a discovery dive they noticed that I was having to clear it often. I was told to shave a little bit under the nose to make a better mask seal. They told me this is a common problem. Hope it helped you.

 

[Quero]

It's possible that the mask is no good (defective or doesn't fit you), but just a couple of things to look into before you rush out to spend more money and time searching for a replacement....

When I was a new diver, I also had bubbles dislodging the mask and letting water in; somehow I would release a little air from my nose on my exhale. If you're facing down, that can lift the mask skirt enough to let a bit of water in.

Also, when I start to feel water drip in from the top, it's always some hair in the way. Maybe your mask is over part of your eyebrow. (Geez, I want to write the word for the strip of hair over the eye, but the automatic editor just gives me this dumb smiley, LOL.) Speaking of hair, everybody has little fuzzy hairs on their face, so some mask clearing is pretty much inevitable, I find, though frequent clearing is certainly annoying.

 

[DandyDon]

I have not taken my scuba class yet but I was told that facial hair under the nose will allow water to get into the mask. When I did a discovery dive they noticed that I was having to clear it often. I was told to shave a little bit under the nose to make a better mask seal. They told me this is a common problem. Hope it helped you.

Yeah, for those of us with moustaches, this is a good plan. A lot of us use silicone grease, too - not Vaseline, which can damage the mask.

Also, when I start to feel water drip in from the top, it's always some hair in the way. Maybe your mask is over part of your eyebrow. (Geez, I want to write the word for the strip of hair over the eye, but the automatic editor just gives me this dumb smiley, LOL.) Speaking of hair, everybody has little fuzzy hairs on their face, so some mask clearing is pretty much inevitable, I find, though frequent clearing is certainly annoying.

We seem to be having some rogue smiley issues. "Eyebrow" should not be a code for a smiley, but it is now...?!?

 

[gr8ful divr]

I have not been wearing a hood. I also do not have a mustache and the hair on my head is too short to interfere with the top of the mask.

When I was a new diver, I also had bubbles dislodging the mask and letting water in; somehow I would release a little air from my nose on my exhale. If you're facing down, that can lift the mask skirt enough to let a bit of water in.

--- That seems to be a likely cause now that you mention it. In fact that may be the main cause of most of the leakage. I'll concentrate on not exhaling from my nose more today. Regarding the fit, my LDS did give me another mask to try for today but it has black scirting which my LDS told me could make things feel claustraphobic for a newbie. Any other new divers have problems with black masks?

 

[LI Diver]

You can try a mask with a purge if you can't resolve the exhaling through the nose problem. I know one diver that constantly exhales through his nose with one. However it could create a fogging issue. As far as the smileys people,try inserting a space between eye and brow, hence: eye brow

 

[SangP]

Hi gr8ful divr,

Breathing through your nose isn't recommended. First it removes the suction of the mask and allows it to dislodge from your face letting water in.

Black masks are fine... I love them and the claustrophobic thing is a myth... at least for me and my all my friends.

Get a good vision mask and it would matter at all... btw, what was the mask you had and what mask do you have now?

SangP

 

[Ber Rabbit]

You do need to occasionally exhale through your nose on descent to avoid a mask squeeze.

MASK SQUEEZE:
"Mask squeeze" occurs when you don't puff air into your mask. As you go down, the mask "sucks" on your face. This bursts small blood vessels around the eyes. It can cause bruising, subconjunctival hemorrhage (blood spots over the white of the eye), and swelling. It rarely causes injury inside the eyeball.
The small hemorrhages in the skin fade in a few days. It can take a couple of weeks for subconjunctival hemorrhage to clear up. The blood may spread for a few days. This type of hemorrhage isn't dangerous.
See the doctor immediately if there is loss of vision, twinkling lights or shadows in your vision, or increasing pain.

Check out this story, it includes a great picture of a mask squeeze 5 days after the squeeze occurred.

Personally I gently exhale a bit of every breath through my mask and it does not leak. Make sure the straps are not too tight as the others said, if you have an indentation around your face where the mask sits after your class then the mask is too tight. Your instructor should have you doing buddy checks and that would include having your buddy make sure the skirt isn't folded at all and your strap is straight, a twist in a strap can also cause a mask to leak. Another thing that can cause a mask to leak is changing your expression (smiling, etc.) you say it's a slow leak and you can feel it coming in by your eye, was that after you smiled about something? Any movement of the muscles in your face will change your face shape a bit and can cause your mask to leak.
Welcome to the sport!
Ber :lilbunny: